The 7 Greatest NBA Teams Of All Time

These are the Greatest NBA Championship Teams of All Time.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The NBA Conference Finals are in full swing with the Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs, Indiana Pacers and Miami Heat all vying for the opportunity to hoist the Larry O'Brien trophy after a grueling regular season.

Despite the glory and prestige that comes with being the last man standing at the end of the season, not all championship teams are created equally. There are champions and then there is the cream of that crop. These are teams that no matter who they faced in the finals the chances were that they were going to come out on top.

Unfortunately we dont have a time machine that would allow some of the greatest teams to face off in a Mortal Kombat style grand tournament, There are certainly teams that have been left off of this list that deserve mention.

San Antonio's 1999 team featuring Tim Duncan, David Robinson, Avery Johnson and Mario Ellie is one such team. The 1989 'Bad Boy' Detroit Pistons featuring one of the greatest back courts of Isaiah Thomas and Joe Dumars that swept the Lakers also deserves mention.

However the list is only seven teams long and sacrifices had to be made. This is the list of the seven greatest NBA championship teams of all time...

#72012 Miami Heat

The 2011-2012 Miami Heat had a lot to prove. Lebron James and Co. had been bounced in the finals the previous year by the Dallas Mavericks. There had been a lot of hoopla surrounding James' arrival in South Beach and his legacy had taken a major hit following his team's unceremonious exit from the 2011 finals. Lebron showed up and then some in this series as the Heat trounced the Oklahoma City Thunder 4-1. After averaging 27.1 points, 7.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game during an MVP winning regular season, James followed up with a playoff performance of 30.3 points, 9.7 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game on his way to securing the finals MVP honors. When he arrived in Miami, James famously promised to win not two, not three, not four, not five... championships, this is the series that got the ball rolling on the "King's"legacy.